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Nyiragongo and Nyamuragira Volcano Eruption Alert in Goma

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Nyiragongo and Nyamuragira Volcano Eruption Alert in Goma Democratic Republic of Congo: Nyiragongo and DREF operation n° MDRCD007 GLIDE n° VO-2009-000076-COD Nyamuragira volcano 15 April, 2009 eruption alert in Goma The International Federation’s Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) is a source of un-earmarked money created by the Federation in 1985 to ensure that immediate financial support is available for Red Cross and Red Crescent response to emergencies. The DREF is a vital part of the International Federation’s disaster response system and increases the ability of national societies to respond to disasters. CHF 63,780 (USD 55,475 ou EUR 41,941) has been allocated from the Federation’s Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) to support the national society and beneficiaries (estimated to 1,000,000 people) to strengthen their capacity to face an eventual eruption of Nyiragongo and Nyamuragira in Goma. Summary: After the string of wars in the region of Kivu, particularly in the Northern Kivu province, the city of Goma is now threatened by another risk: eruption of the Nyiragongo volcano. According to the report by experts from the volcano observatory in Goma (OVG) the same signs that announced the 1977 and 2002 eruptions were identified. The city of Goma and the area of Nyiragongo located at the bottom of the volcano are and will remain high risk areas. Since January 2009, the Nyiragongo and Nyamuragira volcanoes have been showing the following signs: recurrent seismic swarms of volcanic nature; great range volcano tremors at the seismographic station of Rusayo where they happened more frequently than in other stations. This means that the volcano tremors mainly come from Nyiragongo, which lake of lava is very active. The last eruption of the Nyiragongo volcano on 17 January, 2002 caused the displacement of about 400,000 people, who are still living in Kibati. Since then, many parameters have changed, like the size of the population of Goma, which was then estimated at 400,000 in the last interagency contingency plan of 2003 but now amounts to about 800,000 inhabitants. The same threat is noticed for the district of Rubavu and the city of Gisenyi. Therefore, more than one million people are expected to be displaced in case the cities of Goma and Gisenyi are hit. Therefore, both tectonic and volcanic activity must be closely monitored. Most eruptions which happened in the area of the Nyamuragira and Nyiragongo active volcanoes in the region of Virunga were preceded by visible seismic, geodesic, geochemical and geothermal signs. The last mission of evaluation of the OVG experts revealed that Nyamuragira will be in eruption in the next two or three months. It also revealed that an eruption of Nyiragongo seems not imminent, since the level of the lava lake was still low. However, it still requires regular monitoring to avoid any unexpected event since the volcano eruption is difficult to precisely predict. Since April 7, 2009 the DRC’s Red Cross, under the coordination of the Federation, has launched joint operations of preparation 1 and monitoring for two months in collaboration with ICRC, in order to mitigate the effects of lava flowing to high risk cities. This operation is expected to be implemented over 2 months, and will be completed by 2 June, 2009; a final report will be made available three months after the end of the operation (by 2 September 2009). Unearmarked funds to repay DREF are encouraged. <click here for the DREF budget, here for contact details, or here to view the map of the affected area> The situation The city of Goma and the area of Nyiragongo in the Northern Kivu province (east of the country), in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) are threatened by unusual activity of the Nyiragongo and Nyamuragira volcanoes, as announced by Goma’s Volcano Observatory on Wednesday 01 April, 2009. According to the Observatory, their activity was preceded by great range seism and volcano tremors at the seismographic station of Rusayo. This situation should be closely monitored, according to the experts from the Rusayo seismographic station, since most eruptions which happened in the vicinity of the active volcanoes in the area of Virunga have always been preceded by similar signs. The North-Kivu section of the DRC’s Red Cross set up an emergency team to monitor the situation, by updating the contingency plan with regards to volcano eruptions, sensitizing opulations and putting logistic means at their disposal, identifying sites for the displaced, and updating the warning system and plan of evacuation of populations. A meeting was organized between Goma and Gisenyi (Rwanda) branches to prepare coordinated operations. Coordination and partnerships After the warning process, the Province Government, which is represented by the Health Ministry, convened a meeting with all national and international partners, and local authorities. Various tasks were assigned to Red Cross of DRC/North Kivu (updating of contingency plan; community sensitization; participation in the process of identification of sites for displaced people; updating of the plan of evacuation). The OVG engineers carried out an evaluation mission to collect reliable data regarding the activity of volcanoes. Another meeting was held in Gisenyi, on Rwanda’s border, which involved Red Cross of the DRC, Rwandan Red Cross, ICRC, Rwanda’s police, engineers from the OVG in Goma to share the latest data and harmonize actions. Red Cross and Red Crescent action Since a warning was issued by local authorities, the Red Cross of DRC at the province and national level set up a task force to monitor the situation. The following activities were carried out, among others: · Mobilization of the province committee and action by task force in headquarters; · Participation in inter agency meetings; · Preparedness among volunteers at province level; · Coordination meeting with IFRC; · Federation’s continuous technical and material support to the national society; and the promotion of exchange and coordination at country, cross country and inter-zone levels, with all Movement’s partners; · Information sharing and coordination with ICRC that acts as the lead agency in the Kivu provinces that are ravaged by a non international armed conflict; · Meeting with local authorities; · Information sharing with all components of the Movement; 2 · Meeting between authorities of Red Cross of DRC, Rwandan Red Cross, ICRC, officials from the army and Rwandan police, OVG and other participants from several organizations. The meeting was held in Gisenyi. The needs The proposed operation The Red Cross of DRC plans to carry out sensitization activities and an updating of plans and procedures to reduce risks at a maximum in case of a volcano eruption. Objective: To improve the level of knowledge and preparedness of target communities and Red Cross of DRC/North Kivu to reduce effects on populations in the event of an eruption. Operational objectives · To improve the operational activities of the Red Cross of DRC//North Kivu in terms of response in the event of a massive population displacement; · To improve the level of information, knowledge of target populations for a better understanding of warning and evacuation processes, and the related measures taken. Expected results 1. The current contingency plan, warning system and operational procedures of the Red Cross of DRC/North Kivu are updated. 2. Camps for displaced populations are identified by authorities and current evacuation plans and procedures are updated. 3. The contingency plan, warning system, evacuation plans and procedures are tested and identified by target populations, authorities, Red Cross of DRC/North Kivu, the Movement’s partners and other stakeholders. Implementation strategy This operation will be implemented through two phases in coordination with the Movement’s partners in DRC (mainly the Federation, which has a lead role during disasters and ICRC, which is the lead organization in Kivu). Activities will also be implemented with authorities and the various actors and in close collaboration with Rwandan Red Cross: · Updating of the contingency plan and activities related to this plan, namely the early warning system, the centre of operations and emergency procedures, evacuation plan, etc. · Retraining of volunteers and mobilizing/organizing them to sensitize communities about the risks related to volcano eruption and about the contingency plan (evacuation procedures, camps for the displaced, role of the Red Cross, etc.). Training and equipment will be provided with the support of ICRC. Besides, a permanent risk monitoring will be carried out, together with authorities and the Goma volcano observatory, and if necessary an emergency appeal will be launched as soon as the warning level shifts to orange. Activities Phase 1 · A workshop to update the contingency plan will be conducted. This workshop will gather authorities from the DRC and Rwandan Red Cross, the Federation, ICRC and local authorities from both countries (25 people). · Setting up of a Centre for emergency operations and procedures in Goma, Gisenyi and Bukavu. · Updating of the warning system: the warning chain, which starts from the OVG up to families and volunteers, community representatives and warning signs will be worked out and tested (30 people). · Identification of evacuation walkways, entrance/exit ways (Rwandan border) and camps for displaced people in cooperation with Rwandan Red Cross and local authorities. 3 · Updating of the evacuation plan from high risk areas to temporary shelters, with involvement of local authorities, Red Cross of DRC volunteers and community representatives (20 people). · Retraining of community representatives and those in charge of sensitizing within Red Cross of DRC/North Kivu. Eighteen (18) areas, three IDP camps, two volunteers and three community members for each area will be mobilized, with technical and material support from ICRC. Phase 2 · Sensitization campaign in high risk areas for the dissemination of warning signs, communication about the most suitable behaviour in case of emergency, about evacuation walkways and camps for the displaced.
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